Southampton’s 2025/26 campaign was shaping up to be a disaster.
It’s November. And, following a run of just two wins in 13 games that sees the Saints flirting with the Championship relegation zone, Will Still is sacked.
In his place comes Tonda Eckert, a 33-year-old with no prior managerial experience.
The German was only meant to be a stopgap, but with six wins in his opening seven league games – allied to a new unbeaten run that started back in January, the Saints are marching on towards promotion.
And it’s Eckert’s tactical fluidity that is largely to thank…
All Saints
For anyone betting on football outright markets like Championship promotion, typically wagers are placed either before the season starts or in its early going. But such a strategy can miss a late momentum-driven run, which has seen Southampton backed into 11/10 to secure ascension back to the Premier League.
But the seeds of possible success for the Saints under Eckert were sown as far back as November, when the German revealed his tactical nous to the world in his first role as head coach.
Initially, Eckert favoured a 3-4-3 system to ensure continuity with his predecessor. He allowed his wing-backs to roam high, albeit keeping their width, while the two ‘wingers’ in his starting shape would sit narrow as number tens.
That was revelatory for players like Finn Azaz, who now had more freedom to create from an inverted position. In Eckert’s first seven Championship games in charge, the Irishman scored five goals and assisted three more.
SAINTS LEADDDDDD 👊 [1-0] pic.twitter.com/hNHKU7aBZW
— Southampton FC (@SouthamptonFC) March 18, 2026
But a blip in form forced Eckert to rethink his tactical setup, which saw Southampton switch from a possession at all costs mantra to embracing quicker verticality.
That offers the Saints both a Plan A and a Plan B, which in the Championship – a league unlike any other when it comes to the sheer diversity of opponents and playing styles – is essential.
It’s a fluidity that may yet pay off in the ultimate way as the season approaches its business end.
The Tinker Man
Eckert is blessed with a strong squad at Championship level… and he’s been very keen to use it.
In a six-game winning run between March 14 and April 14, the German used 22 different players and made 15 changes to his starting eleven from one game to the next.
It’s the sort of rotational policy that doesn’t always deliver results, but boy has it worked for Southampton: six wins, 15 goals scored, and just three conceded.
That’s a sign that all of the playing staff used are on board with Eckert’s tactical demands, coming into – and out of – the starting eleven and being able to hit the ground running when doing so.
The 3-4-3 shape has been replaced by a 4-2-3-1 system, which is closer to the classic formation favoured in German football – Eckert cut his teeth as a youth coach with the likes of Bayern Munich and RB Leipzig.
A deadline day addition. ✍️
Adam Armstrong has signed a three-and-a-half-year deal at Molineux. https://t.co/bODQZp10Ci
— Wolves (@Wolves) February 2, 2026
What makes the current run even more impressive is that it’s been achieved without their top goalscorer. Adam Armstrong had racked up eleven goals by the time he was sold to Wolves in January, but the likes of Cyle Larin and Ross Stewart have been reintegrated into the team as his replacements… and both are now finding the net.
Now only Coventry City have created more xG than the Saints, while Eckert’s attention to detail has also seen his side fly up the set-piece goal table – 24 have been netted in this fashion.
Defensive solidity, attacking spark, and an ability to score from set plays…Southampton could take some stopping in the weeks left of the 2025/26 season. And it’s Eckert who will be celebrated the most should promotion be secured.
